CEBU CITY ? Today, Rey ?Boom Bom? Bautista faces the biggest challenge of his career, a fight that may either give him an extended lease on life or end his dreams of being world champion outright. To survive this crossroad, he must exorcise ghosts from his past if he is to win the IBF intercontinental featherweight championship.
For the last two years, Bautista has been haunted by an embarrassing loss to Heriberto ?Cuate? Ruiz, the Mexican who has been the demon in his nightmares. In their previous meeting, Ruiz floored the young Filipino in the third round and won by decision. But the aftershocks of that fight resonated deeply, more so because Boom Boom was injured, and tried to gut it out.
?He was already hurt in the previous fight against Ponce de Leon,? says Michael Aldeguer, scion of Antonio L. Aldeguer and president of ALA Promotions, promoter of this fight. ?He tried to fight, but it came to a point where he couldn?t throw. And his left jab, hook and body punches were all gone. It was really a lousy fight. Afterwards, he cried in the dressing room and admitted it was really painful.?
Bautista had a broken, rotting bone in his wrist, just beneath his palm. A specialist urged them to have surgery and take out the bone. Bautista?s recovery was slow and difficult, but not as painful as the memory of a fight he could have won had he been healthy. He refused to go home to Bohol, instead holing up in his quarters in Cebu for training. In his initial return to the ring, he still complained of pain, but it was manageable.
?We still wanted to give him two more fights, but he begged for this one,? Aldeguer continued. ?So we made an offer they would find hard to refuse, and showed them we could really market this fight, let?s see what happens.?
Having beaten Bautista before, Ruiz is confident he can do it again. Maintaining his fitness regimen all year round, he trained even harder for this fight, knowing he would be in his rival?s bailiwick.
?I know this is his hometown, but I came here to win,? claims Ruiz, who has 28 knockouts in 46 wins and is nine years older than Bautista. ?Filipinos are good fighters. I am a good fighter, too. Whatever happens, happens.?
Bautista, for his part, no longer smiles as readily. His face is frozen in a cold, stony stare, his eyes pinpoints of hard light. He knows that after tonight at the Waterfront ballroom here, he may not have a tomorrow, at the age of only 24.
?I can?t think that I will lose,? says Bautista. ?I have been waiting for this for a long time, and this is it. It will be very difficult for me if I lose. I can?t think that way.?
Ruiz, for his part, claims to have watched tape of Bautista?s last two fights, and says the Filipino is still fighting the same way, using the same style. He, on the other hand, has supposedly overcome the weaknesses in his own style to ensure that he will defeat his host.
More than that, the question is whether or nor Boom Bautista can banish the ghost in his mind or not.
